Mexican Bishop: Homophobia "Is A Mental Illness"

Saltillo Bishop Raúl Vera has taken a page out of Pope Francis's book to lend a surprisingly ardent string of Catholic support to the LGBT community.

In an interview published in Terra Mexico, Bishop Vera relates the story of a mother who came to him concerned about having a gay son. "One mother came to me and said that she was being watchful of her son because he was hanging out with "those degenerate gays" and I said 'so blame yourself for it because that's the way your son developed in your womb and he didn't develop into a degenerate or a perverse person. He was born with a certain constitution you are trying to ignore. Calm down, you are the mother of that child and he began to be who he now is inside your womb. So the first one I'd kick out would be you because you are the perverse one who is first in line.' That's what I said."

"Why would I immediately think a gay or lesbian person is perverse or depraved the moment they approach me?" he adds. "That's how people who are homophobic react. It's a mental illness in which you see gays as depraved and promiscuous. You have to be sick in the head for that."

Bishop Vera goes on to explain that bigots who use the Bible to demonize homosexuals need to reread the passages with a contextual understanding that the book is thousands of years old. Then, according to the bishop, they will realize that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality.

Do you think we're seeing an evolution in the Catholic hierarchy under Pope Francis's leadership? Or are we just witnessing isolated incidents of compassion and tolerance?

This is great. I like especially how he talks about having a "contextual understanding" about the Bible as that is how it was taught to me through 12 years of Catholic schooling. I just shake my head in disbelief at anyone who thinks the Bible is a literal book.